Admittedly, I'm an idiot, attempting to find the Crab & Lobster on a stormy winter night, in a car held together with Sellotape, using only a tourist map, a boyfriend, and directions hastily printed out from Google - but as we tumbled down yet another country road, Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve was not a welcome sight.

But looming on its border we found our hotel - and fell gratefully into L'Occitane scented baths. We weren't there for the view, though - we were starving. The Crab & Lobster is a swamp-side 'restaurant with rooms', recently taken over by local restaurateur Sam Bakose, who has installed lots of leather seats and a proper seafood chef.

We sat down to eat in a busy dining room. To the north, a young and richly groomed couple stroked each other's faces, while to the south, a local family shared the calamari and chorizo starter. I was recommended the beer-battered fish and chips, which, pleasingly, came with a lemon in the shape of a cartoon fish.

The food was excellent - the fish delicate, the batter light, the chips thickly cut, the desserts huge. Service was fast and flirtatious. Breakfast, too, was elegant and locally sourced, and served to the gentle sounds of Songs of Praise. Half an hour away at Goodwood, the UK's largest organic farm offers more delicacies, including fancy frozen ready meals at its comprehensive farm shop. We joined the farmer, Karl, on a trip to coo over the piglets, snuffling among the woodlands. We listened to him mourn the damage that modern farmers have done to the world since 1940, and enthused about his ambitions for the future of farming. We fell in love with him a bit.

Produce from the farm is cooked up at The Kennels, a members' club in a Georgian hunk of a building, where you can watch pheasants trotting across the terrace as you tuck into a roasted partridge.

Chichester is stuffed with stunning, simple foods, grown and picked and caught within the South Downs. Even with extreme weather conditions and a defeated car, it's the perfect place for a weekend of gorging.

We liked: The understated decor and delicious seafood

We didn't like: The bad road signs

The verdict: Bring elasticated slacks

The cost: Standard rooms cost from £120 a night, including breakfast. Deluxe rooms cost from £140.